The Pastures or the Pastor?

Fourth Sunday of Easter

May 7, 2017

Psalm 23:2

The Pastures or the Pastor?

In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

PSALM 23:1-2

Where are the green pastures about which David wrote?

And what does this tell us about Jesus?

David wrote Psalm 23 3,000 years ago. But more important for understanding green pastures is the geography. Green pastures for us in the West, especially Iowa, are really green. Close your eyes and hear the words, “Green pastures,” and you're likely to see thick green fields of alfalfa.

But in the eyes of those in the Middle East, green pastures don’t look green. Farm country there is hard to find and when you are growing crops, you don’t want sheep grazing on your farm land. So shepherds in the Middle East find grazing land wherever they can, often on rocky hillsides. Instead of lush valleys, they graze their sheep on ancient hill paths. These paths are even lines with each other up the hill, spaced so that each sheep can graze on either side of their path.

From a distance it might look like the sheep are eating dirt and rocks, but when you look closely they are eating little shoots of grass. This is the wilderness, but it is also the green pasture. Moisture that blows in from the Mediterranean Sea provides just enough water for these tufts of grass to grow on these rocky hill paths. And so this is where a shepherd take his sheep, leading them by his voice along these paths, where they get just enough.

This does change our thinking about what it means to be one of Jesus’ sheep. If you think of the green pastures as rich fields where you can just flop down and eat—where you really don’t need a shepherd—you may stop listening to Jesus’ voice.

Your family hopefully is a green pasture for you—a gift from the Lord—but it’s tempting to love your family more than Jesus. For example, it’s tempting to try and keep your home an outwardly happy place by refusing to call a family member to turn away from a sin that they are saying isn’t a sin. To keep your family looking like a green pasture, it’s tempting to remain silent and end up loving a father, mother, daughter, or son more than Jesus. He warns of this temptation:

Anyone who loves their father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

MATTHEW 10:37

As sheep, our great temptation is to worship the pasture instead of the Pastor, which is what shepherd means. And Jesus is our Good Pastor.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

PSALM 23:3

And so thinking about these hilly paths, following our Good Pastor, you receive just enough. He gives you the promise of Gospel in baptism, preaching, and communion. This Gospel is that our Good Pastor stood between you and the justice of God and sacrificed His life to satisfy His justice. His death makes you just and right before God. And it is enough. Like sheep in the wilderness, as long as we have our good Pastor speaking to us, we have enough.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His Life as a ransom for many. Alleluia! Amen!